Some residents who were among the first in the state to be vaccinated for the coronavirus likely will have to get a booster shot as COVID-19 and variants are expected to continue to persist for months and perhaps years, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Monday.
Gottlieb, who lives in the state, said during a press conference with Gov. Ned Lamont that Connecticut is expected to reach “a tipping point” this month that will enable the state to return to some normalcy, but warned that COVID-19 and its variants are likely to be around for some time.
“We can start to take more risks with what we’re doing,” he said, but noted, “We’re never going to get to zero with COVID. COVID’s always going to circulate. It’s going to be a fact of life probably for a long time.”
Gottlieb said that’s in part because COVID-19 is “mutating spontaneously,” leading to different strains.
While Gottlieb said he doesn’t expect a true fourth wave to sweep the country, new variants are continuing to develop and spread.
“It’s quite likely that you’re going to want to give another dose of the vaccine to some portion of the population, at least, heading into the fall,” particularly to those vaccinated late last year and early this year, he said. There has been “some decline in the protection over time,” he added of vaccine efficacy.
Gottlieb said some of those who were inoculated early on, especially older residents, are likely to need a booster the next two winters in order to stay protected, and that he expects “seasonal” vaccinations for COVID-19 for especially those who received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Lamont said the administration is working on a plan for booster shots at nursing homes, as well as getting new staff and residents at such facilities vaccinated, considering there is about a 5% turnover rate each week in nursing home populations.
Gottlieb said he doesn’t believe there will be a national uptick in COVID-19 cases, but suggested some states may have eased restrictions too soon in an effort to appease their residents even if it wasn’t the wisest move scientifically.
“Policymakers end up fashioning policy that has to conform to the aspirations of people and the aspirations of the governed,” he said. “You can’t be that far out of step with what people want. You’ve got to try to fashion policy that conforms to a degree with where the public mood is, and the public mood is in a place where people wanted to start returning to some semblance of normalcy.”
Gottlieb credited Lamont for creating “a glide path to reopening” by adopting an age-based system for vaccine eligibility while maintaining mask requirements when easing restrictions.
“I think masks should be the last thing people give up and we haven’t given it up yet,” he said. “It’s the easiest intervention to try to prevent risk.”
To date, more than 2 million vaccine doses have been administered and more than 809,000 people are fully vaccinated, including 82% of people at least 65 years old, the demographic most susceptible to severe complications and death.
The state is expected to receive a shipment of 288,000 vaccines this week, and despite 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines being spoiled in a plant in Baltimore, “our doses continued unabated,” Lamont said.
All residents who are at least 16 years old are now eligible to be inoculated, and Lamont encouraged residents to take advantage of new appointments that continue to become available.
With more people getting vaccinated, Lamont said, the administration is set to allow outdoor graduations, as well as indoor graduations with masks in the case of inclement weather, and proms later this spring.
“Don’t hold back,” he said. “Get vaccinated. Get vaccinated now. There is capacity and that will make our decision making a lot easier.”
Meanwhile, the state is rolling out 35 mobile vaccine vans that are intended to provide “an ice cream truck type of mentality,” in which “you’re going to be able to walk up and get a vaccine,” Lamont said.
Among those who will be targeted for mobile vaccinations are those with disabilities, as well as other hard-to-reach communities.
Lamont’s Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said mobile units would be stocked with the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Hundreds of pharmacies, including independent pharmacies other than large chains, also are providing the COVID-19 vaccine and the state is working to establish high school and college clinics as Connecticut is “seeing some flair ups” among younger people, Lamont said.
Since Friday, an additional 2,699 Connecticut residents have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 316,655, with 484 hospitalized, a net decrease of 15.
Lamont said the demographic of those requiring hospitalization has shifted from older residents to younger people who tend to not face major complications, leading to a decrease in the percentage of deaths when they are hospitalized.
“We’re not at herd immunity yet, but we’re getting closer,” he said. “Young people, get vaccinated.”
Gottlieb noted there isn’t the same demand for vaccine appointments now as there was for those 65 years old or older even though a large age group became eligible last week.
“We’re really going to have to work to get 20 year olds and 30 year olds,” he said. “They should get vaccinated. They’re at less risk from the virus, but they’re not risk-free from the virus, and I think everyone should get vaccinated.”
An additional 19 people died over the weekend, bringing the total number of Connecticut fatalities linked to the virus to 7,923. Of the more than 82,000 tests conducted since Friday, 3.28% came back positive.
April 06, 2021 at 07:56PM
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State prepares for virus booster shots later this year - Journal Inquirer
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